An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 13 I was based in Dublin first before I moved onto the Special Forces.' The idea behind the RTÉ show is to put fitness fanatics and ordinary members of the public through a sample of the training required to become a member of the Army Special Forces. Over a ten day period, recruits are subjected to mentally and physically draining exercises, pushing themselves to the very limit. While Robert says the show provides a good snapshot of what it's like, nothing compares to the real deal. 'If you don't find it tough there's either something wrong with you or the course,' he laughs. 'The real course takes place over a month and it's very intense. You're operat- ing on very little sleep; you're constantly on your toes and you never know what's coming next. You have two weeks of tests and then you're basically marched off up into the hills with your gear on your back for another two weeks. Then there's another six months of training if you make it to that point.' The next step saw Robert train in advanced weapons, anti-terror and hostage situations. 'The hostage situ- ations can be tough,' he recalled. 'Basically you're put into a room and you have to make split second deci- sions on which you're constantly assessed. It's very tough, but it needs to be because if you're in that situation, then there's somebody's life hanging in the balance. Basically, you get used to dealing with the stress and each step further you take, you grow in confidence. The whole point of it though is to test you to your limits, and that's the kind of thing that we're trying to do on the show.' While people are always cynical of the hidden secrets of TV, Robert is adamant that with 'Ultimate Hell Week', what you see is what you get. 'Obviously it looks very gritty,' he says. 'There's no acting though. The cameras roll and we just keep going. There are no high fives at the end of a scene or anything like that. There are only six shows, so there's a huge amount of editing involved. It's actually very dif- ficult to make the decision to leave some of the stuff out.' Having made it into the elite Army Ranger Wing, Robert went on to serve in some of the most volatile areas in the world. As well as being trained in all manner of counter terror manoeuvres, he is also proficient in areas such as jungle warfare and has trained alongside Europe's top defence forces. Having been involved in all manner of difficult situations, his experiences in Africa have stuck with him the most. 'I suppose Africa was the biggest wake up call,' he says. 'It's a different life in these places. You go from the life we're used to in Ireland to a situation that's really survival of the fittest. You're in places where they've had ethnic cleansing, entire villages wiped out. People are living in mud huts. There's no power, there's no water in the wells.' Add into this the constant impending danger of being drawn into a gun battle and it's understandable how such experiences can change a man. 'Oh you are on edge from the moment you arrive in these places,' Robert confirms. 'You constantly have your weapon on you at all times. You even sleep with your weapon on you in bed. There's always someone on guard and keeping an eye out.' 'It does take a little while to adjust then when you come home,' he concedes. 'I suppose your family adjusts and they get into their own habits and then you kind of come back and disrupt the whole thing. It doesn't take too long to get back to normal though.' Nowadays, Robert is mostly involved in private security work along with his fellow instructors Ray Goggins, Ger Reidy and Alan O'Brien. Arising casually in conversation, Robert says that it was while they were on tour with U2 that the offer of the RTÉ show came up. 'Yeah I went to work for U2 for three years,' he says, as an aside. 'I was with them for the Joshua Tree Tour, and the Innocence and Experience Tour. It's nearly as much work as being in the unit to be honest! Basically I go ahead of the band and make sure everything is in place security and logistics wise and then I'd be with the band providing security too. I'm a big fan of the band and it's amazing to see the whole operation behind the scenes.' When the idea for 'Ultimate Hell Week' was floated, Robert and his three colleagues were the first names on the list. 'It almost ended up like we were interviewing them,' he said. 'We had a lot to think about in terms of putting our past careers on the line. Thankfully, it's turned out really well though and the feedback has been really positive.' While everyone on the show is in some way fit, it's not always the biggest or strongest that prevail. 'It's not really physical, it's mental,' said Robert. 'You could have the biggest guy there with the muscles and everything, but once he gets half way up that mountain he could say "no more". It's more about your head and how much you want it than the physical challenge. This year we started with 28, which was more than the first series. We're not really kicking them off the course as such. They just find their own level and they'll drop out themselves until you get the numbers you need.' The second series of the show runs for 6 weeks. While the level of pressure placed upon the recruits is not to everyone's taste, Robert says that the feedback for the show has been unanimously positive. 'It's been brilliant,' he said. 'The feedback has been really positive. When it went out last year, there were people coming up and shak- ing my hand and saying they really enjoyed it and stuff. Most impor- tantly, the military and the Irish Army were really happy with it.' Robert won't be around to accept the plaudits as this series airs. He and his team are headed for New York to carry out some contract work for an e-commerce firm. While he has been to some extraordinary places and done some extraordinary things, it's very much just part and parcel of life for the Wexford man. 'I suppose it's only when you sit down and talk about it, you realise you've done some interesting things,' he laughs. 'I keep forgetting half the stuff I've done!' 'Special Forces: Ultimate Hell Week' airs Mondays at 9.35 p.m. on RTÉ2 and is available to watch back on the RTÉ player.

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